Bear Digest

Win by Caleb Williams and Bears Keeps Power Rankings Guessing

The world of NFL power rankings has the Bears coming in over a wide range of spots within the middle of the league after a "historical" opening victory without offense.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams takes off for a first down on a scramble against the Titans in Sunday's win.
Caleb Williams takes off for a first down on a scramble against the Titans in Sunday's win. / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
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A victory without offense affected the power rankings in various ways, depending on who does the ranking.

With Caleb Williams throwing for 93 yards and a two-point conversion but the defense and special teams delivering a 24-17 comeback win over Tennessee, most power rankings gave the Bears the benefit of the doubt.

But there is doubt and should be after what was a bit of a "historical" win.

Normally rankings for a team come down in a tight range of places but the win without offense led to the Bears coming in all across the board in rankings. The range of places was eight places, and that's very sproadic for power rankings.

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Considering their offense produced fewer yards than they ever did under Luke Getsy, maybe it’s Shane Waldron who needs to answer questions and not necessarily Williams.

Here are their wide range of rankings.

SI.com: 19th

Conor Orr called Caleb Williams’ problems “a handful of very rookie moments.” It was a polite way to put it. He did mention a run when Willams put a joke on Ernest Jones to pick up a third-and-14, offering praise. Then again, they had that kind of play last year. What they need is a 14-yard pass on third-and-14.

Yahoo Sports: 15th

Leave it to veteran Frank Schwab to uncover the historical aspect of the Bears’ win. “It was the first time in NFL history a team has trailed by 17 points, had less than 150 yards of offense and won the game via ESPN Stats and Info,” Schwab wrote.

He’s right. Even in the famed “They are who we thought they were,” game against the Cardinals, the Bears managed more yards with 168 as they rallied to win without a TD.

CBS Sports: 14th

Winning without offensive TDs or help from Williams counts for more with Pete Prisco. “But he has to be better this week against the Texans,” Prisco wrote, in a classic understatement.

The 33rd Team: 20th

Marcus Mosher remained a real skeptic with a ranking in the bottom half of the league but praised the team for finding a way to win. “The Bears will need Williams to be a lot better moving forward, but it’s always good to get that first win out of the way with a rookie quarterback,” Mosher wrote.

Houston would be a good way to get the second win out of the way.

 Pro Football Talk: 13th

Mike Florio commented that the 4-0 preseason Bears are in the past: “The regular season is very different from the preseason.”

They won games in preseason with offense and defense. Somewhere along the way the offense got lost in the translation apparently.

Fox Sports: 15th

David Helman commented how the Bears seem stuck in history with a defense, special teams and no offense. “Not to be mean, but it's incredibly funny that the first Sunday of the Caleb Williams Era looked eerily similar to the last four decades of Bears football.”

The Sporting News: 15th

Vinnie Iyer acknowledged the poor first outing by Williams. “But they went old school with defense and special teams TDs, and Williams should get on the improving trajectory in a prime-time duel with Stroud in Week 2,” he wrote.

NFL.com: 15th

Eric Edholm saw enough positives in Williams to think there is more coming soon. As for the strength of the team, he pointed out the Titans might not be the best indicator of their defensive strength. “The Bears’ defense was spectacular when it had to be, but dealing with C.J. Stroud and Co. is a different story.”

USA Today: 20th

The offense took its lumps from Nate Davis.  “Their 148 yards of total offense were the fewest by a winning team in the league in the past four years. Seems like a glass half full situation.”

ESPN: 17th

While the ESPN staff ranking seems about right, their theme of the week for each team was to come up with a best newcomer performance and beat writer Courtney Cronin named Simone Biles' husband, Jonathan Owens. The backup safety ha d a scoop-and-score on a blocked punt. Owens merely got fortunate the ball came to him after Daniel Hardy's block. The newcomer who really made a big impact was Darrell Taylor, who had a strip sack leading to a field goal for the Bears and another sack and also was third in tackles despite playing only 38 of 64 snaps. He was with the Bears 16 days when he had a standout game.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.